FISHING STATIONS— IRELAND. 357 



will prol)ably make her drift too fast. There is no doubt 

 tliat the hig-rig is the one most suitable for drift-boats ; 

 the masts are not lofty, and therefore need not be heavily 

 rigged, so that even if they are not lowered when fish- 

 ing is going on, there is not much weight aloft, and 

 when one or all are got down there is of course less for 

 the wind to act upon, and lighter and more effective 

 nets can be used. 



Another and increasing source of interference with 

 trawling during summer is the great demand for men 

 in yachts, and this we hope is leading to the growth of 

 a better class of fishermen ; taking the whole year, one 

 employment indirectly helps the other, for it is the men 

 who are sea-going fishermen, and not the amphibious 

 class wdio merely act as boatmen or do a little hand- 

 lining, who are in request in the yachting season ; and 

 when that kind of work is over they return to their 

 fishing and get their living by that means during the 

 winter. There is an inducement therefore to become 

 fishermen that they may be qualified for yachting work 

 during the light weather ; while they are secure of 

 employment when that is over. Their familiarity with 

 the fore-and-aft rig of the fishing smacks makes them 

 particularly handy on board either racing or cruising 

 yachts, which now are all, with rare exceptions, rigged 

 in that fashion. It is no doubt hard on the smack- 

 owners that they should not be able to keep tlieir men 

 throughout the year ; but they are only liable to be 

 shorthanded at the season when trawling is less likely 

 to be profitable, and they are pretty sure of their crews 

 again when the best fishing can be made. The appren- 

 tice system might, we imagine, be here worked with 

 advantage to the boys, the smack - owners, and the 

 country. Some remedy, however, has been attempted by 



